SkyCity looks to expand Adelaide Casino

Adelaide Casino has had a good year. The casino, which occupies the grand and historic Railway Station building at the heart of Adelaide, is the city’s premier gaming and casino destination. Profits have been up this year, too, with a 7% rise in revenue at Adelaide Casino contributing to an increase in profits for SkyCity Entertainment.

And the parent company has recently revealed some ambitious plans for Adelaide – a project of renovation and expansion that would allow Adelaide Casino to compete with the very best integrated resorts in Australia and throughout Asia.

Obviously, the historic Railway Station is a great asset to Adelaide Casino, and SkyCity’s plans would preserve the building intact, whilst at the same time adding a multi-storey, ultra-modern extension that would allow customers to overlook the original building.

Included in the plans are a hotel, restaurants and bars, a spa and a rooftop pool – as well, of course, as additional space for Casino Games and pokies, plus VIP suites intended to draw high-rollers to Adelaide. Those developments would bring Adelaide Casino right up-to-date, following a trend towards integrated resorts that is seeing success both here in Australia and abroad, particularly in Singapore. The benefits to Adelaide’s tourism industry are obvious, and increased revenues at the casino can only stimulate the local economy and fill the state’s coffers, too.

But the deal isn’t set in stone yet. SkyCity have made it clear that they want to work in partnership with the South Australian Government to ensure that such a huge investment in the state is a secure one for them. CEO Nigel Morrison explains that the redevelopment would rely on certain concessions from the government:

‘we're working closely with the casino taskforce in South Australia regarding the regulatory framework for the Adelaide Casino and the outcome of those discussions will determine whether or not we're able to proceed in progressing our plans for the transformation of the Adelaide Casino.’

It’d be a shame if the chance for a great new casino got lost in the details, but it’s clear, too, that a modern casino has to operate in cooperation with local officials. The potential for an Adelaide Casino that offers the same unparalleled gaming experience as sites like The Star in Sydney and Melbourne’s Crown Casino is exciting, and we’re certainly hoping that SkyCity and the South Australian Government are able to find a way to make that happen!